Africa is still heavily reliant on coal. To protect the climate, leading industrialised countries should help Africa to invest in clean growth and leapfrog to renewables, says former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Achieving sustainable development goals depends on the mutual relationship between European associations and the industry sectors. Stefan Crets and Louise Scott explain the role of both sectors and how they can raise sustainability impact in the community.

One of the main causes of food insecurity for farmers in rural areas is limited access to agricultural inputs. Donors, NGOs and governments are using a variety of new tools to improve access to basic products.

Nearly €340 billion of investment will be needed to achieve universal access to electricity across Africa by 2030, the World Energy Network forecasts. That is a tall order. The combined grid capacity of the 48 sub-Saharan African countries is around...

Mass migration has become a major political challenge in Europe. While the media documents the perilous journeys that migrants undertake, the hardships and hopes of the rural areas from which many originate receive less attention, meaning the root causes of migration persist, writes Claudia Sadoff.

Conflict resolution should be followed by recovery-type investments, development-type investments and investments in the future, Arif Husain, chief economist of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), told EURACTIV on Tuesday (10 October).

Sustainable Development Goals pose a considerable test for governments and EU institutions. Yet in a world in which the corporate sector is likely to enjoy greater agency, there is a concomitant opportunity to use the SDG process as a trial for European diplomacy, argue Jan Melissen and Ries Kamphof.

Former UN climate Chief Christiana Figueres, one of the architects of the Paris Agreement, has called on the European Union to step up regulatory action against deforestation in the global south by tackling emissions of imported agricultural goods, like beef, soy and palm oil.

The world must ditch austerity and economic neoliberalism and undertake a global "New Deal" to rebalance the global economy and achieve prosperity for all, the UN trade and development agency UNCTAD said in a report on Thursday (14 September).

A third of the planet’s land is severely degraded and fertile soil is being lost at the rate of 24 billion tonnes a year, according to a new United Nations-backed study that calls for a shift away from destructively intensive agriculture. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.

Migrants have become the focus of the EU's aid strategy. As priority is given to stemming migrant flows in the short-term, long-term development goals are forgone, tarnishing the EU's image as a global development actor, writes Fanny Voitzwinkler.

EU member countries decided yesterday (12 July) to cut the proposed EU budget for 2018 by €1.2 billion. The European Parliament deplored this “mechanical” cut, while NGO’s denounced the decrease of development aid and its re-directing to combat immigration.

The loss of the United Kingdom, one of Europe’s biggest aid donors, will force the EU to strengthen its development action. In France, the election of Emmanuel Macron could give development policy a much-needed boost, Rémy Rioux said in an interview with EURACTIV France.

A key plank of future aid funding to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has come under fire in a report which warns against all ‘blending’ partnerships until a raft of alleged failures are fixed.

EU lawmakers yesterday (1 June) waved through the new Consensus on Development. But many criticisms, including on migration controls that feature in the text, have gone unanswered. EURACTIV France reports.

Child marriage often cuts short a girl’s education and increases the possibility of death in childbirth or injuries. West and Central Africa have some of the world’s highest rates of child marriage – three in four girls in Niger, and more than half in Mali, are married by the time they turn 18 – according to UNICEF.

Voices from the African, Caribbean and Pacific nation states pushed back on Monday (15 May) at the focus on ‘democracy’ in the European New Consensus on Development, in a debate which opens old wounds between donor countries, and developing nations.

Contribute to our reporting

The need for fast, accurate and balanced information is always important. We value EURACTIV's good, independent journalism and support this initiative

Mella Frewen, Director General of FoodDrinkEurope

EURACTIV plays a vital role in bringing Europe closer to its citizens. EURACTIV has long recognised that the story of Europe has to be told across the continent, and not just in Brussels. We need to support a truly European and informed debate.